With Ilya Mikhalchik and Florian Alt out of the picture, who would take the lead in the standings? That was the central question surrounding the IDM Superbike 1000 race in Most, Czech Republic. The answer: Dominic Schmitter. The 26-year-old YZF-R1 rider from Hess Racing finished on the podium in the second race as well, thereby securing the lead in the overall standings for Yamaha. BMW had previously held that lead thanks to Mikhalchik’s victory at the IDM season opener in Oschersleben.
But the spectators along the track also got to witness something that hardly anyone had thought possible so soon: Valentin Debise secured a victory for Kawasaki in the premier class. In the Supersport 600 class, which the Frenchman with the white helmet also competes in, he had already achieved this at the start of the season. Now it seems that even the Superbike 1000 class is no longer safe from him. Team boss Emil Weber had let his best horse out of the gate again, and it was unstoppable. In the overall standings, Debise shot up to second place. And in an interview, he explained that he isn’t afraid of Mikhalchik (EGS-alpha-Van Zon-BMW) when the latter returns to the Nürburgring. Quite the opposite, in fact. With a time of 1:34.819 min, Debise also broke the lap record at Most, previously set by Karel Hanika.
After the field had settled in the second race following the reverse-grid start, Schmitter elegantly passed Luca Grünwald (Kiefer Racing) at the end, who finished third in the BMW. Due to the starting grid, it had taken him a while to work his way up through the field. He gratefully accepted the 16 points following the disaster in the first race. Marc Moser (Bonovo action by MGM) had no luck. After starting from pole position, he was knocked out of the race in the first race. In the second race, he could only manage a sixth-place finish.
Bastien Mackels (Team SWPN) and Vladimir Leonov (Hertrampf MO Yamaha Racing) racked up a lot of points. They are currently ranked third and fourth in the standings, followed by Grünwald. Their consistency could pay off at some point.
Ilya Mikhalchik, the previous leader in the standings, will now have to really step up his game to make up for the IDM points he lost at Most. The Ukrainian has slipped to ninth place. But the final tally won’t be settled until the end of the season.
IDM Superbike 1000, Round 2
1. Valentin DEBISE (FRA/Kawasaki)
2. Dominic SCHMITTER (CHE/Yamaha)
3. Luca GRÜNWALD (DEU/BMW)
4. Bastien MACKELS (BEL/Yamaha)
5. Vladimir LEONOV (RUS/Yamaha)
6. Marc MOSER (GER/Yamaha)
7. Philipp STEINMAYR (GER/Yamaha)
8. Julian PUFFE (GER/BMW)
9. Alessandro POLITA (ITA/Honda)
10. Nico THÖNI (AUT/Kawasaki)